Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/CARL COURT
In that same time period, most nuclear installations across Europe and North America face potential closure as they reach or surpass their design lifespans and encounter opposition to their continued use in communities intent on rapid deployment of renewable energy supplies. Yet in developing markets, nuclear is gaining recognition as a potentially critical enabler of emissions reduction efforts, thanks to its ability to generate abundant baseload energy supplies with little to no harmful direct emissions.A key reason behind the contrary views is the relative age of nuclear facilities within each region.
In contrast, 84% of the nuclear capacity in China — the second-largest nuclear generator after the US — has been built since 2010, and so is considered more modern and efficient than many of the country's coal-fired power plants, which are much older.Another key timing-related consideration is how well a country's energy system can accommodate and finance a wholesale switch-out of legacy power generation systems for more modern — and greener — alternatives.
Power prices have increased sharply in both regions as this retooling has got under way, but in Europe at least many businesses and consumers are so far prepared to share that burden and to aid the transition away from fossil fuels. As a result, nuclear power is looked upon as a viable alternative to fossil fuels for baseload energy generation, which can be complemented with growing volumes of intermittent renewable power planned across Asia and other regions in the decades ahead.
My goodness, this is pure BS. Absolutely no connection to any conceivable reality.